The Broncos trailed by nine points and had just gone three-and-out when Jordan Love and the Packers took the field early in the third quarter looking to add to their lead. When Love launched a first-down pass deep to Christian Watson, cornerback Pat Surtain II made a highly athletic play to record his first interception of the season. Surtain leapt in the air for a diving pick to take the ball away and give the Broncos the ball back. Denver scored a touchdown on its next drive to cut the lead to two, and the Broncos would add two more touchdowns later in the game to retake and then solidify the lead. Without Surtain’s big play, the Packers may have put the game out of reach. Instead, Denver got the takeaway it needed to earn a win.
In the first half, the Packers’ top 10 offense found plenty of success. Green Bay scored on all four of its first-half possessions to build a 16-14 lead, and the Packers added a touchdown on the first drive of the second half, as well. But beginning with Surtain’s interception, allowed just a field goal over the Packers’ final six drives. In all, Denver got five second-half stops — including two interceptions and a pair of turnovers on downs. For a Denver defense that was challenged early, it was quite the response.